Across a desolate wasteland, the members of Team Guy charged toward the Akatsuki hideout. Dust billowed in their wake as the four shinobi and the dog ran at high speeds.
Suddenly, Pakkun slowed down, looking confused.
"What is it?!" Guy asked.
"Someone's coming!" Pakkun barked in alarm.
At that moment, Neji activated his Byakugan, scanning the surroundings. "Behind us!"
The four spun around just as Samehada burst from the ground, swinging toward them with crushing force.
Boom!
The team leapt onto the cliffside.
"Oh no!" Neji started to say, but it was too late. Guy's reflexes were faster; he threw a punch, intercepting a massive Great Fireball descending from above, causing it to explode instantly.
A smaller figure landed amidst the dust kicked up by Samehada. As the haze cleared, Kisame and Kanon were revealed.
One stood in the red-clouded black cloak, wielding Samehada. The other, with twin tails and straight bangs, wore the same cloak, a fox mask resting on the side of her head.
"You're... Kanon Uchiha!" Neji looked at Kanon, standing beside Kisame, with a heavy expression.
Guy, meanwhile, focused on Kisame. "You are..."
"Do you know that guy, Guy-sensei?" Rock Lee asked curiously.
"Who is he?" Guy asked, genuinely puzzled.
…
On the other side...
Naruto's group was also being watched by Zetsu.
"More enemies have appeared."
"It's getting quite noisy this time. Deidara, Kanon, Sasori," Pain said, his tone carrying a hint of cold irony toward the "Art Trio."
"No, this Jinchuriki is more formidable than the other two. That's why I told you at the start that your ninjutsu isn't suited for a stealthy approach," Sasori criticized Deidara.
"Speaking of which, the traps you set were quite exaggerated too, old man."
"What did you say?!"
"Enough! It's my fault. I was too slow in taking down Gaara." Seeing the two start to bicker, Kanon cut them off.
"Correct! Do not engage in infighting. Focus on the jutsu!" Pain barked at them. "Now, who shall go this time?"
"It should be my turn, right?" Hidan asked.
"The ones coming this time are also Konoha shinobi."
"I'll go," Kanon said, manifesting another Shadow Clone.
"Then, Itachi, will you accompany Kanon?"
"No need. He'll only get in the way, and I'm afraid I might not be able to resist killing him." Kanon's expression was ice-cold, not giving Itachi even a hint of a pleasant look.
…
Team Kakashi was rushing forward when Kakashi suddenly sensed a disturbance.
"Everyone, scatter!" The four split apart instantly.
BOOM!
A terrifying roar of lightning instantly obliterated the ground where they had just stood, leaving a deep crater. The rising dust made everyone squint.
In the clearing ahead, a young girl with twin tails and the red-clouded black cloak appeared. Just as before, a fox mask hung from the left side of her forehead, though her stature had grown much leaner and taller.
Naruto's pupils constricted. Gazing at the girl who was more familiar to him than anyone else, his heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected their reunion after three years to happen like this.
It felt like a long nightmare, pushing him and the person who once looked after him, cared for him, and supported him to opposite sides of a divide.
Kanon Uchiha had once been the warmest presence in his life. Together, they had woven countless dreams, sitting on the edge of the cliffs, sharing so many words.
In those three years, whenever night fell, loneliness and memory were Naruto's only companions. He had tried to use the knife of time to sever that emotional entanglement, only to find that the more he tried to forget, the clearer her image became. Her smile had left an indelible mark on his heart, a pain he could never quite reach.
Now, reuniting with her three years later, Naruto had thought time had smoothed over his feelings. He thought he could calmly face the girl who had once cared for him so deeply.
But as she stood before him, all his logic and defenses crumbled in an instant. Her eyes no longer held the warmth of the past; in its place was a cold strangeness and a bottomless pit of hatred.
In this moment, Naruto felt a searing pain, as if an invisible hand were squeezing his heart, making it nearly impossible to breathe. He saw the hostility and indifference in her gaze, as if they were nothing more than strangers.
He wanted to tell her that he hadn't forgotten their past, that he, Naruto Uzumaki, still thought of her deeply. But it was all too late. This reunion held no warmth, no embrace, only the shattered fragments of a heart scattering in the wind.
"She appeared so soon..." Kakashi said softly.
"This girl... those eyes..." Chiyo frowned, seemingly recognizing the clan the girl belonged to.
"Kanon!" Naruto roared toward the distant girl.
…
Back with Kisame and Kanon...
Neji frowned, his Byakugan active as he observed the two.
"These two... their chakra levels are staggering. Aside from Naruto, this is the first time I've seen anyone with such an immense amount of chakra."
"Were you holding back during the Chunin Exams?! Kanon Uchiha!" Neji shouted.
"Did I need to do anything else for the likes of you?" Kanon sneered, drawing the Kusanagi Sword from her waist.
"Do you really not remember?" Kisame asked Guy from a distance.
"You... could it be..." Guy looked puzzled.
"It seems you've remembered?"
"Have we met somewhere before?"
Guy's response completely threw Kisame off. "It seems even the brain of this 'rare beast' is on the level of a wild animal. No matter. I'll help you remember right now."
"Kanon-chan, this one is mine. Can you handle the other three?"
"No problem."
…
Team Kakashi.
The four looked at Kanon, their expressions fraught with complexity.
"Yo. If it isn't Kakashi-sensei," Kanon said with a light chuckle, her three-tomoe Sharingan gleaming from behind the fox mask.
"Kanon...?" Sakura's expression was stunned, her pupils trembling.
"Sakura and Naruto, huh?"
Suddenly, Kanon's body blurred into an afterimage, reappearing right beside Naruto. She smiled and pinched Naruto's shoulder, then patted his forehead, acting as if she had never left.
"Hmm. You've grown taller. Gotten a bit more handsome, too." Kanon nodded in satisfaction, then leaned her back directly against Naruto's.
"Kanon... are the bonds we had just gone? The memories of Team 7... the memories of us..."
Hearing Naruto's naive words, the corner of Kanon's mouth quirked upward.
"Yes. They're all still there. That's why I used to aim for your level, imitating your personality, forcing myself to forget the pain and the bitterness. I used to admire you! I kept trying to be like you—sunny, cheerful, full of hot-blooded drive. But in the end, Naruto, I realized that just wasn't me. That's exactly why I left Konoha."
"I have other bonds now."
"Those bonds are... my hatred for Itachi, and my hatred for Konoha! Having too many bonds only makes one lose their way. Only when you exist in that kind of darkness do you truly understand what pain is."
Listening to her explanation, Naruto's gaze wavered as he asked, "If that's true, then why..."
"Why did you save me at the Valley of the End?! Do you think you can just ignore everything now, Kanon?!" Naruto barked.
"The reason is simple: you are my best friend."
Leaning against Naruto's back, Kanon stretched lazily, scanning the surroundings. Kakashi and Sakura were staring at her in a daze, while only Chiyo remained narrowed-eyed and wary.
"Speaking of which, Naruto, didn't you want to be Hokage? Instead of looking for me, you should go back and train properly. Become Hokage, and then let me defeat you like a stray dog. And then, you can watch as I destroy the Konoha you cherish so much. Right, Naruto?"
Kanon's expression turned ice-cold, the Sharingan in her mask spinning slowly. "I might have saved you last time, but this time, if the whim strikes me, you might just die here."
Kanon's hand slowly gripped the hilt of her Kusanagi Sword. Feeling her draw the blade as they stood back-to-back, Naruto spoke softly.
"A guy who can't even save his best friend... how can he ever become Hokage? Right, Kanon?"